Hawzah News Agency (Occupied territories)-Some 18,000 Jewish settlers and Israeli security forces stormed Al-Aqsa Mosque compound during 2016, an official study revealed.
The study, which was published by the London-based Daily 48 agency – known as Palestinians 48, has reported that the figure is considered the largest since the Israeli occupation on Jerusalem “Al-Quds” in 1967.
According to the study, the Israeli worshippers had comprised 14,103 settlers – most of who seemed to be part of the core group of Temple Mount activists, 2,259 Jewish students, and 815 police and intelligence forces.
The month of October have witnessed the largest record number of Jewish settlers who entered Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem, as coinciding with a three-week period of Jewish holidays (3-15 October), under the protection of armed police officers and forces.
During the same month, Israel has suspended cooperation with UNESCO a day after the UN cultural body passed a resolution that sharply criticized Israeli policies around Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, while supposedly rejecting Jewish ties to the holy site in occupied East Jerusalem.
The resolution condemned Israel for restricting Muslims access to the site, and for aggression by police and soldiers. It also recognized Israel as the occupying power.
In August 2015, Israel imposed restrictions on the entry of Palestinian worshipers into the compound.
Muslims consider trespasses by Israelis into the Al-Aqsa Mosque as part of a provocative Israeli campaign. They say the Tel Aviv regime seeks to change the demography of the holy city of al-Quds, where the mosque is located.
Over the past decades, Tel Aviv has been trying to change the demographic makeup of Jerusalem “Al-Quds” by constructing illegal settlements, destroying historical sites, and expelling the local Palestinian population.
Israel occupied East Jerusalem, in which the Al-Aqsa is located, during the 1967 Middle East War. It formally annexed the entire city in 1980, claiming it as its capital in a move never recognized by the international community.